Bacterial Meningitis?

[KuyaDanny]

I've read there's a vaccine for bacterial meningitis. Should we get the shots? How much does it cost?

[Ira]

I'll check out its availability in Manila. Will get back to you on Tuesday.

[Ira]

Oops, forgot to post this yesterday, KD. Wednesday na! :D

If you mean the H. influenza meningitis vaccine, it's been available for a year or two already. It's purely up to you if you want to have your family vaccinated--the kids are more prone to this, since they are frequently around other kids who have coughs and colds. You can get them thru any neurologist. The price is pretty reasonable for longterm peace of mind--around P1 thou. The meningococcemia vaccine is also available, but I'm not quite sure about the price.

[KuyaDanny]

Thanks, Ira.

The former sounds like the viral kind (which the body can fight, right?), while the latter sounds like the bacterial kind (which is potentially fatal). I think I'm interested in the latter, which in the US costs about $90 a dose.

[Ira]

Actually, H. influenza-caused meningitis is bacterial, and is much more common than the rarer meningococcemia (also bacterial). I'll post the going rate for the vaccine once I meet up with a neurologist in Makati Med tomorrow.